


russetfur vs. the entirety of skyclan

by eveningbreeze



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Enemies to Friends (sorta??), Gen, Ghosts, Unwanted Bonding, this is supposed to be a comedy, we'll get there eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24013738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveningbreeze/pseuds/eveningbreeze
Summary: After enduring months of Turtlekit and Kitekit’s abuse, Rootkit finally snaps and accidentally awakens his powers. This has the unfortunate side effect of reviving the ghost of an angry Shadowclan warrior who: 1) is personally offended by Skyclan’s existence, and 2) has magnanimously taken it upon herself to relieve the world of that burden. Or something.
Relationships: Rootspring & Needleclaw, Rootspring & Russetfur, Rootspring & Tree
Comments: 16
Kudos: 46





	1. the necromancer

**Author's Note:**

> this is a dumb idea that xbloodywhalex on tumblr and i came up with, hope you enjoy
> 
> i bring you Chapter One: In which Rootkit Experiments With the Art of Necromancy

There's a grave in the camp.

Well - it's not really a _grave_ per se, that's just what everyone calls it.

It's a little hidden and out-of-the-way, tucked between the elders' den and the nursery - a perfectly round patch of dirt where the grass doesn't grow. If you press your nose to the ground and sniff, it smells like sweat and anger and blood, no matter how often it rains. Hawkwing said once that when Tree first joined Skyclan, he'd taken one look at the circle and declared it haunted, and everyone else had steered clear of it since.

Rootkit's a little skeptical. Sure, there's something weird about the grave, but haunted? Honestly. If there was a ghost in the Skyclan camp, it would've shown up by now, and even his dad has to admit he's never seen anything. He's only _sensed_ it, whatever that's supposed to mean. It's not like you can smell a ghost.

Anyway, no one knows how old it is or if someone died there or even who it might've been; the grownups say it was there before Skyclan arrived in the forest, which was so long ago that even his _dad_ was hardly born yet. Rootkit can't imagine it.

Even though he doesn't think it's haunted, he still ends up back there a lot. Most other cats are wary of the grave and won't go near, which means Rootkit can hide there anytime he wants without being bothered. Usually, he's hiding from Kitekit and Turtlekit, but sometimes it's the unfriendly looks the older cats give him that send him creeping behind the nursery. They look at him weird because of his dad, he knows. Sometimes, all he wants to do is sink into the ground and never talk to anyone again.

Needlekit pretends not to care, but he caught her crying on top of the grave one time, so he knows it bothers her too.

Rootkit's thought about trying to talk to her, once or twice, but she's trying so hard to act strong and he can't ruin that for her. And his mom will just lick his ears and tell him they really _don't_ think he's weird, dear, and he'll see the lie in her eyes. And his dad - he can't talk to his dad. So he talks to the grave instead.

"Kitekit pushed me down, today," he'll say, or "Turtlekit put ants in Needlekit's nest and blamed it on me, and Reedclaw _believed_ her." Once, he tries to explain why his dad aggravates him so much, but halfway through he chokes on frustrated tears and gives up. Maybe next time.

The point is that he talks to it, a lot, and sometimes he says things that maybe he shouldn't have.

So when Kitekit overhears him talking about how his dad was trying to teach him to think like a bush (and as if _that_ isn't the stupidest thing he's ever heard, _seriously_ ), and calls Turtlekit over to for let's-all-make-fun-of-Rootkit-time, it's really just what he deserves. After all, he's the weird son of the _one_ cat who talks to ghosts and had to have an entirely new role _invented_ for him; if Rootkit's talking to piles of dirt now, he's just carrying on the family tradition of being an absolute _loon_. According to Kitekit and Turtlekit, anyway.

"-I'm just saying, if you want it to talk back, maybe you're just not going at it the right way," Turtlekit suggests, a sneer curling her lip.

"Yeah," Kitekit chimes in. "Maybe you should try thinking like a bush. Just like your dad, right?"

Rootkit glares at his paws, watching them shake with barely repressed fury. "Can't you leave me _alone?_ I don't care what my stupid dad does!"

His tormentors laugh. They both sound identical, vapid and inane and carelessly, needlessly cruel. He _hates_ them, Rootkit realizes, and something inside him wavers on the verge of a breaking point.

" _You_ might not," Kitepaw says. "But everyone else does. _Leafstar_ does. She's just letting you guys stay here 'cause of your mom. Do you really think she'll let a weirdo like you be a warrior?"

Rootkit's head snaps up against his will. He knows better than to give them a reaction like that, but this is his dream; he wants to be a warrior so badly it _hurts_. Leafstar wouldn't actually keep him from being a warrior, would she?

Turtlekit snickers. "Maybe, when you finish your apprenticeship, she'll just kick you out. After all, there's no way you'll be a decent warrior, and we don't need another _useless_ cat dragging the clan down." _Another cat like your father_ goes unsaid, but the implication makes Rootkit dig his claws into the ground.

"And your worthless sister, too," Kitepaw adds, and within Rootkit something _snaps_.

"That's _enough_ ," Rootkit snarls. Kitekit jerks back in surprise, but Rootkit doesn't care. The hatred welling up in his throat burns like something physical; if he were any angrier, he'd spit acid. "I've had _enough_ of you people! Every single day, _every single day_ you treat me like _garbage_ , when I've done _nothing_ to you! I _hate_ you!"

Kitekit's eyes go wide as he backs away. Turtlekit mouths a word, but Rootkit can't hear it over the blood singing in his ears. The heat rushing through every nerve in his body is making him giddy; he feels high on power, making his enemies cower before him.

"You think you can say whatever you want to me," Rootkit hisses. "You think you can say whatever you want about my family! Guess what - starting now, if you _ever_ mention my mom or my dad or my _sister_ again - I'll _kill_ you!"

The last words seem to echo with a throaty reverb through the air. All of Kitekit's fur is standing on end. Turtlekit is cringing to the ground, ears flattened back so far that they've disappeared into her skull. Rootkit grins, and it's more a baring of teeth than a smile.

"Now _go_ ," he breathes. Kitekit and Turtlekit stumble over each other in their haste to flee, for once uncoordinated and clumsy as they'd always accused Rootkit of being.

Rootkit sits back on his heels to watch them run. He'll probably get yelled at later, but finally letting loose had felt _good_. "That was fun," he says aloud, and almost jumps out of his skin when someone laughs coldly behind him.

Rootkit screams. He'd like to say he didn't, really, he would, but the noise he makes is too high pitched and panicky to be called anything but a scream. A particularly shrill squeak, maybe.

The strange she-cat looming over him looks like she'd probably agree. She's tall and russet and bone-thin, with a narrow face torn by battle scars. Her scent is cold and musty and reminds Rootkit of the time he'd stashed a mouse and forgotten about it, only to find it again weeks later after it had rotted.

Rootkit swallows and finds his throat has gone dry. "W-who are you? And how'd you get into the camp?"

The she-cat eyes him disdainfully. Rootkit shrinks back, regretting his question immediately. Kitekit and Turtlekit's scorn had infuriated him to no end; this cat's gaze makes him want to crawl under a rock somewhere and die.

After a moment, the she-cat speaks. "You smell like a rogue. What are you doing on Shadowclan territory?"

On _what?_ "What?" Rootkit says dumbly.

The she-cat's lip curls back. She's starting to look considerably less amused and considerably more irritated. Rootkit shivers and longs for his mother.

"This clearing is Shadowclan's, brat," she snaps. "I'd have thought the scent marks would be enough to get the message across, but I'm not one to shy away from... more _direct_ methods of communication." Her scent flares with something like bloodlust, and Rootkit abruptly gets the feeling that if those _direct methods_ involve her claws, he's not about to stick around and find out.

" _Mom!_ " Rootkit shrieks as loud as he can. The she-cat winces and he seizes that split second to sprint out from behind the nursery, still screaming. He gets halfway across the camp before slamming into absolutely the last person he wants to see.

"Woah, kid. Something wrong?" Tree's amber eyes blink down at him and for a moment Rootkit just wants to curl onto his dad's chest fur and cry.

Then he remembers his more urgent problem.

"Dad, I-" Rootkit pauses to glance around the camp. No one's quite looking at them, but he can tell they're all eavesdropping avidly. Rootkit's resolve hardens. "Dad. We've got a- a _you_ problem."

Tree looks amused. "A _me_ problem?"

"Yes!" Rootkit growls with frustration and throws himself against his dad's legs, pushing him towards the grave. "You know what I mean!"

That stupid amused look won't get off his face, but thankfully he doesn't say anything and lets himself be pushed. As they pick their way through the brambles behind the nursery, Rootkit breaks away and situates himself securely behind Tree's leg. If the she-cat wants him, she'll have to go through Tree, and Rootkit might have issues with him but he knows that his dad will kill to protect him.

As it turns out, he doesn't have to. The gravesite is empty.

Tree turns to Rootkit. "What am I supposed to be seeing, here?"

Rootkit gazes past him, aghast. "I don't understand!" He scrambles underneath his dad to pace around the little circle, looking for any evidence of the interloper. There's no trace of her but the musty smell of rot. "She was here earlier," Rootkit mutters, mostly to himself. "She smelled like something dead. I think she was... she was..."

"A ghost?" Tree asks. Horrified, Rootkit turns to him to dissuade this particular train of thought, but his dad is already nodding. "I've always wondered if you or Needlekit would inherit my abilities," he says. "It seems like you might have awakened your own. How'd it happen?"

Rootkit looks at the ground and thinks of his earlier outburst, of the heady rush of power that had surged beneath his skin. "No idea," he mumbles.

Tree seems to take him at his word. "That happens sometimes. This ghost, did she say anything?"

Rootkit thinks back to the encounter. "She said... something about Shadowclan. That I smell like a rogue. Not much else, she didn't even tell me her name."

"Huh." Tree looks contemplative. "Well, this was Shadowclan territory, once. She probably died a while ago, so it'll probably be hard to help her move on. Meanwhile, let's both keep an eye out, hmm?" He nudges Rootkit gently. When Rootkit doesn't meet his eyes, Tree sighs. "Well, let me know if you see her again, kiddo. I'm going to talk to your mother."

Rootkit watches his dad leave with some resentment. He's going to go straight to Violetshine, and tell her all about Rootkit's creepy new powers, and by sundown the whole _camp_ will know and any chance Rootkit has of not being treated like a freak will be gone. Figures.

Rootkit slumps to the ground. All that, and his dad didn't even help with the ghost problem, 'cause the dumb lady took off before he even got there. What a waste of time.

At least he got to freak out Kitekit and Turtlekit. Rootkit snickers into the dirt, remembering the looks on their faces, and abruptly goes stiff with an _eep_ as a freezing wind cuts through the fur on his shoulders. A cold chuckle echoes through the air, and right by his ear, the she-cat's voice whispers, "My name's _Russetfur_ , brat."

Rootkit shudders.

He doesn't move until the she-cat's icy laughter has faded completely, and her dark presence has disappeared from the grave. Once he's sure she's absolutely, entirely gone, Rootkit clambers to his feet, eyes narrowed in determination.

He has _work_ to do.


	2. the standoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two: In Which Rootkit Realizes He's Over His Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the standoff near the end of this chapter, i'd like you to imagine a cheesy western theme playing in the background, perhaps interrupted with the single, desolate cry of a lonely eagle,

Rootkit starts with some research.

Once a long time ago, back when he'd been awed by his dad's abilities and not ashamed of them, Tree had told him and Needlekit how he pacified ghosts.

"First, of course, you have to talk to them," Tree'd told them.

"Like you always do!" Rootkit had chimed in. Even then, he'd known of his father's preference for talking over fighting.

Tree had purred. "Of course. Most ghosts don't want to fight; they just have unfinished business here. Talking first can save you a lot of time in getting to the root of the problem."

"What then?" Needlekit had asked.

"The ghost gives you a task. Usually, they want to right a wrong, or speak to their loved ones one last time. Something like that."

"Woah..."

"Once you complete the task, they'll be at peace. The ghost will be able to move on to the afterlife, or wherever they were supposed to go after they died."

In other words: figure out the unfinished business and finish it. Rootkit's already tried talking, with... not much success. Of course, that's hardly the only way of figuring out what a ghost's deal is; one of Tree's favorite stories had been about trying to help a mute she-cat whose throat had been torn out by dogs.

She'd wanted him to find her kittens and take them back to her owners, or something. Rootkit forgot.

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that there's more than one way to skin a cat (wait, no, bad expression) and Rootkit doesn't have to _talk_ to the crazy lady to get her pacified.

So. Research.

Rootkit starts off with Petalnose. Old people, in Rootkit's experience, know all the local gossip, and Petalnose is the oldest of everyone Rootkit knows. Except Leafstar, maybe, but he's not about to bother Leafstar for something like this.

Especially if she's really having second thoughts about his warrior ceremony.

Petalnose, at least, seems to have no such doubts. Unlike most of the clan, she's never seemed bothered by Tree's weirdness, and never treated Rootkit differently because of it. He appreciates that.

"Rootkit!" Petalnose exclaims when he climbs into the elders den. She jabs a paw into Fallowfern's side, who abruptly wakes up with a snort. "Look who's here!" she adds, gesturing to Rootkit with her tail.

"Hi, Rootkit," Fallowfern says, a little too loudly. Petalnose flicks her tail gently in the way that Rootkit's learned means _a little softer._ Fallowfern's voice is a little quieter when she says, "What brings you here?"

Rootkit plops down in front of the elders and regards them seriously. "I'm here about a cat," he says. "She said..." he trails off as an idea creeps into his mind. "Frecklewish said," he begins slowly. "She said something about a cat named Russetfur. And I wanted to know if you knew something about that."

It's vague and sketchy as heck, but Petalnose hums thoughtfully. "The name sounds sort of familiar. I think Tawnypelt may have mentioned her, when she was still here. Do you-?" She turns to Fallowfern and makes a conplicated series of gestures with her paws, tail, and ears that leaves Rootkit breathless trying to keep up.

After a moment, Fallowfern's expression clears. "Russetfur?" Her voice is too loud again, but Petalnose doesn't seem to mind. "She was Shadowclan's deputy once. Tawnypelt told us about her, remember?"

"Right!" Petalnose nods and turns back to Rootkit with a smile. "It was a long time ago, I think, before Rowanclaw became leader. Does that answer your question, hun?"

Rootkit considers this. It answers _some_ questions - why she thought the camp was Shadowclan's territory, for one. She must've died back when it was still Shadowclan's. And she thought he smelled like a rogue because she didn't know Skyclan's scent.

It doesn't explain what her unfinished business is, though. Or why she's here in Skyclan's camp instead of at her own. But Rootkit thinks he might know the answer to the last one.

"Do you know how she died?" he asks.

Petalnose blinks, thrown. "Ah... no. Why do you ask?"

Rootkit abruptly remembers that it's a pretty weird thing to ask, no matter _who's_ asking the question, and suddenly all his enthusiasm evaporates. "No reason," he mumbles, and slinks out of the den before she can say anything else.

When he gets outside, Russetfur is sitting by the entrance.

Rootkit yelps, backpedalling frantically, but Russetfur ignores it. "What is this?" she demands. "Some make-believe clan?"

"A... what?"

The she-cat turns on him, eyes sparking with fury. "A bunch of kittypets, playing pretend? Some of your _Twoleg-coddlers_ haven't even changed their _names._ Harrybrook? _Macgyver?_ " she snorts. "What kind of pathetic _housepet_ names are those?"

Rootkit blinks at her, stung. They might look at him weird, but those are his _clanmates_ she's talking about, and she has _no_ right to make fun of them like that. "Hey-" he begins, but she steamrolls right over him.

"And not only do you _embarrass_ the Clans' names with your little _roleplay,_ you have the nerve to do it on Shadowclan land!"

"But it's not-"

"When leafbare comes, and you mewling Twoleg-snoggers get a taste of _real_ hardship for the first time, you'll go running right back to your masters," Russetfur snarls. "And leave the forest for the _real_ warriors. This is the land of our _conquest!_ We carved out a place for ourselves 'mid hardship and suffering and war and we painted our border lines with blood! You pathetic coddled pets aren't even worthy of the _air_ we breathe, let alone-"

Rootkit screws his eyes shut and screams, at the top of his lungs, _"We're not kittypets, you old hag!"_

Perfect silence descends on them, and it's only then that Rootkit realizes he's standing in the middle of the camp. Everyone's conversations have stuttered to a halt to stare at him and Russetfur, and _no one's_ looking at Russetfur.

Rootkit swallows and wonders if it's too late to run away forever.

"Then what _the Dark Forest_ are you," Russetfur says, and he remembers whose fault this all is in the first place.

"We're _Skyclan,_ " he hisses, glancing furtively at the rest of the camp. Everyone's still staring. "We were one of the original clans, but we got kicked out when the Twolegs took our territory. We just got back to the lake, only you don't know 'cause you've been _dead,_ " he adds in a vicious whisper.

Russetfur stares at him.

"Even if your stupid story was true," she says after a beat, "Any clan too weak to protect its territory _deserves_ to be kicked out," and Rootkit sees _red._

A second later, he's sprawled in the dirt several tail-lengths away with a brand new bruise across the face. Great, now the whole of Skyclan's seen him get belted halfway across the camp by thin air. This will do wonders for his reputation.

"Don't you try to get one over _me,_ boy," Russetfur shouts. "I've been kicking warriors' butts all the way back to the nursery since before you were _born._ "

Yeah, 'cause you've been _dead_ since before I was born, Rootkit thinks, but he's not dumb enough to point it out. He's about to struggle to his feet when a shadow steps between him and the ghost.

"What's all this about," Tree says, a hint of something dangerous in his voice.

Russetfur, to her credit, doesn't seem cowed at all. She spits on the ground between them and raises her head to glare directly into his eyes. "Teaching that fool boy a _lesson._ "

"That 'fool boy' happens to be my _son,_ " Tree says, and then, with an unnervingly pleasant tone, he adds, "Lay another paw on him and I'll rip it off."

A clump of dried bracken rolls by in the wake of Tree's announcement, and for a moment, no one moves.

Then Russetfur _blurs._ When the outlines of her shape resettle, she's poised with claws outstretched over Tree's vulnerable, unguarded throat. Rootkit wonders hysterically why she bothered to stop when she starts laughing. Unlike her earlier cold laughter, this seemed genuinely amused.

"Interesting," she says, and the mirth in her voice sends shivers down Rootkit's spine. Then he realizes that Tree's claws are suspended over her belly, at precisely the angle needed to rip out her intestines with one move. "At least one of you has something like a spine." Faster than Rootkit can follow, she smacks Tree aside with one paw, sending him hurtling to the ground next to Rootkit.

"Dad!" Rootkit wails, scurrying over to him, but Tree flings out a paw to stop him.

"What do you want, ghost?" he calls out. His voice is unruffled and perfectly steady despite his fall.

"I want you _gone,_ " Russetfur says. "I want you and the rest of this kittypet clan to go crawling back to your masters with your tails between your legs. And I won't rest until I see it happen."

Tree rises and shakes the dust from his pelt. His eyes are half-lidded, like he truly doesn't care. "I suppose we're at an impasse, then. This camp is Skyclan's home; Shadowclan gave it to us themselves."

Russetfur snorts. "Blackstar would sooner hang himself by his own intestines than hand over any land to kittypets like you."

... right, whoever that is. Rootkit watches Tree blink in confusion. Russetfur doesn't seem to notice.

"This is my declaration of war," she announces. It's snarled like a challenge, thrown down like a glove on the ground between them. "Me versus the whole of Kittypetclan. Your chances are looking dim, housepet."

Tree visibly sighs. "Ma'am, no one wants that," he says. "If you'd listen, perhaps we could come to a reasonable agreement that everyone's happy with."

"The only agreement I'll be happy with is you and your lot of Twoleg toys _dead!_ " Russetfur lunges at his dad, but even as Tree braces himself for the attack, the ghost dissipates into thin air that blows past him like wind.

Rootkit, who's close enough to feel it, shudders as the ice-cold air claws at his skin.

Tree blinks and relaxes his muscles belatedly. There's a moment of silence before someone asks, "Uh, was there a ghost?"

Rootkit starts and turns to the crowd, having almost forgotten they were there.

"In the camp?" Reedclaw frets. "Is that safe?"

"Hey, wait." Pigeonfoot cranes her head to get a glimpse of Rootkit. Rootkit realizes what's coming even before she says it, and his heart sinks. "Rootkit was talking to it before you even got here. Does that mean he can see ghosts too?"

Rootkit freezes.

And then Tree steps in front of him, shielding him from their audience. "It's not uncommon for kits to able to see ghosts," he says evenly. "Kits tend to have greater sensitivity to the spiritual and can sense a lot of things adults can't. It'll probably disappear as he grows older. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my son to the nursery."

Rootkit stares at his dad and, to his horror, feels tears of gratitude welling up in the corner of his eyes. "Dad," he begins, but Tree just shushes him and picks him up by the scruff of his neck in a way he hasn't done since Rootkit was a couple moons old. Rootkit lets himself be carried back to the nursery and when his dad drops him in a nest and curls around him, he doesn't protest.

Needlekit crawls over from the nest they'd shared earlier. "What happened out there," she asks in a small voice, and Rootkit finds that his throat is too choked to answer her.

His dad purrs comfortingly and a moment later Rootkit feels Tree's tongue rasp gently over his head. "We'll get her out of here," he says. "And no one will be hurt. I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you keep thinking that, tree


	3. the exorcism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Three: In Which Rootkit Practices the Art of Blackmail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so its been a minute since i posted. a lot of things happened, i got a kitten, a job, a new fandom, and i speedran a full semester of calculus in like the past four weeks. im sorry about how late this is and i cant promise when the next one will be up but its half written already so uh hope springs eternal. anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk
> 
> also shoutout to turquoise-tulip on tumblr for reminding me that ive had this chapter in my drafts for half a year now this ones for you

The morning after is quiet.

...is what Rootkit would like to say. Actually, he gets woken up by Tree at what his mom likes to call 'the butt-crack of dawn' to go talk to Leafstar, thereby ruining his chances of being a normal warrior forever.

When they get to the leader's den, Violetshine is already there. Rootkit discovers this by walking into her while his eyes are closed in the middle of a yawn.

"See, he's about to fall asleep on his paws," his mom points out, sounding pretty close to yawning herself. "It's too early for this. Morning, kid."

Rootkit mumbles something that's unintelligible even to himself and falls asleep on his mother's paws. A few minutes later, he's woken by gentle paws on his back.

"Hey, kid. Kiddo. You gotta get up."

Rootkit hums absently, still mostly asleep, before realizing abruptly where he is. _Mouse dung!_ Suddenly, he's completely awake. He jerks his head up, almost colliding with Tree's jaw before he pulls out of the way. Rootkit, too busy panicking, doesn't notice. He just fell asleep in Leafstar's den! After she'd brought him over to talk specifically to him! After seeing _this_ humiliating display of incompetence, she'll _really_ never make him a warrior, and Kitekit and Turtlekit will-

"Rootkit." The single word cuts through the panic. Rootkit looks up to see Leafstar, looking very serious with only a hint of amusement seeping through. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes!" The answer bursts out of him before he really thinks it through. And, well, it's not entirely _true_ , but it's not entirely _untrue_ either. Either way, he's up for answering any questions, which is probably what she's asking.

Leafstar looks at him just long enough for him to start fidgeting before she begins. "I've already spoken to your parents, Rootkit, so I know most of the story. I just need to know your side. What happened yesterday with the ghost?"

Rootkit looks at his paws, then back to Leafstar's calming gaze. "It started when I was at the grave. I was just- just talking, and then Kitekit found me..."

He tells her the whole, stupid story. How he'd lost it at Kitekit and Turtlekit and turned around to find a ghost looming over him; how he'd asked Tree for help, only for her to disappear; how she'd attacked him and Tree, announced her intentions, and vanished. At last, the story runs dry and he falls silent to watch her expression change.

Leafstar hums thoughtfully. She turns to Tree. "Do you think she's likely to hurt someone?"

Tree shrugs, looking uncomfortable. "If she's serious, yes. Most ghosts can't touch the living. Those who can - like this one - usually died violently or thinking they were wronged. And angry ghosts tend to be... _volatile_."

"Ah." Leafstar considers this.

"If it comes to that, what'll you do?" Violetshine asks. "Will you be able to stop her?"

Rootkit watches Tree watch his mom, and something in his dad's eyes soften. He leans over to swipe a tongue over her ear. "You want to help her, don't you?" he says quietly. "Because she's Shadowclan?"

Violetshine flushes, but she doesn't back down. "Many of them weren't kind to me," she says, "But Shadowclan was still my home once. I can't just forget that."

Tree purrs and winds his tail with hers. "That's why I love you," he whispers.

Rootkit sticks his tongue out in disgust. Bleh. Grownups!

"To answer your question," Tree adds, "I don't know what I'll do. I suppose-" he pauses, eyes tight with worry. "I've never exorcised a ghost who didn't want to move on before. I don't know if I even _can_. This may be something of an experiment."

The grownups look at each other for a long moment. "I will do whatever it takes to keep my clan safe," Leafstar says. There's something like a warning in her voice that makes Rootkit shiver.

"What should I do?" he asks. All three adults look at him like they've forgotten he's there.

After a moment, Leafstar's face breaks into a smile. "Tell you what. You can help by keeping an eye out for this Russetfur and letting one of us know when she's nearby. But listen, Rootkit," and her voice goes stern. "You _must_ stay away from her. Russetfur is _dangerous_ , and she may hurt you to get what she wants. Do you understand me, Rootkit?"

Rootkit looks into Leafstar's amber eyes - warm and worried and burning with a fierce, protective fire - and knows what he has to do. "I understand, Leafstar," he says, and just like that, his mission clicks into place.

* * *

From somewhere else in the camp - probably the warriors' den - someone screams, followed by Russetfur's haunting cackles.

Rootkit ignores it.

As he double checks his supplies, Rootkit runs through a mental checklist. He's talked to the ghost - check. He's figured out what she wants - check. He's given her what she wants - well... no. Tree's three-step-plan hadn't exactly accounted for what happened if what the ghost wanted was unobtainable.

Well, it doesn't really matter now. This plan is sure to work.

"Are you _sure_ this is gonna work," Needlekit says again.

"Yes, I am, Starclan above will you stop _nagging_ me," Rootkit says.

His sister makes a disgruntled noise and hauls the next bramble into place with a particularly vicious tug. "I'm just concerned you have no idea what you're doing, is all."

"I know exactly what I'm doing."

Rootkit doesn't have any idea what he's doing.

"Hmm." Needlekit seems thoroughly unconvinced, but she gets on with the task anyway. The trailing brambles she's weaving into place will form a turtle-shell-shaped cage laced with warding herbs over the grave when they're done. The plan is more or less to summon Russetfur into a cage she can't phase through, leaving her unable to escape. In Rootkit's opinion, it's a pretty solid plan for someone who has no idea what he's doing. "Why're you so set on doing this, anyway? Didn't Leafstar tell you _not_ to mess with Gingerpelt?"

"Russetfur," Rootkit corrects her automatically. "And, well, yes, but..." he hesitates. "It's just... you know. I was the one who set her free in the first place, and..."

"Yes?" Needlekit prompts him. She's given up on the brambles and moved to stuffing moss and bracken into the gaps.

Rootkit fidgets uncomfortably for a second before the truth bursts out of him. "And now Russetfur's running wild everywhere and it's all my fault, and what if Leafstar decides not to make me an apprentice? If I don't become an apprentice, I can't be a warrior! And if I can't be a warrior-" he cuts himself off. He can't repeat what Kitekit and Turtlekit had said; even saying the words aloud seems like tempting fate... and he can't burden Needlekit with that, anyway.

Needlekit looks at him, though, and her gaze goes soft. "And being a warrior is your dream," she says, and starts stuffing the gaps with renewed vigor. "Well, come on, then! If we can trap Scarletfuzz then Leafstar will _have_ to make us both apprentices! I can't be an apprentice without you; then I'd have to share the den with just Kitekit and Turtlekit. Can you _imagine_?" She pulls a disgusted face that has Rootkit giggling despite himself.

"Alright, alright," he says. "While you're doing that..." He shoves aside the piles of bracken they'd collected and settles down on the dirt. In his stories, Tree had never really talked about summoning ghosts - his work had been more about getting them to _leave_ \- but Rootkit is pretty confident about his ability to summon her again if necessary. More importantly, one or two of his stories had been about things the average, non-ghost-seeing cat could do to ward off spirits.

Rootkit spreads out his supplies, most of which had been scavenged from the medicine cats through a combination of tag-teaming and white lies. The herbs really _are_ going to help his mom, just not in the way Fidgetflake thinks.

Thistledown. Rosemary. Lavender. Thyme. All plants that either attract or repel spirits, according to Tree (from what Rootkit can remember, anyway). Plus a _lot_ of spiderweb.

"Hey, are you sure that's right?" Needlekit asks, leaning over his shoulder. "I thought we were gonna get some sage. And why'd you pick up the thistle?"

Rootkit frowns. "Well, Fidgetflake was coming back too soon and I panicked, alright? If you've got a problem you can get some more yourself."

Needlekit snickers and prods the massive pile of spiderwebs. "No thanks. I think you could've gotten a little more spiderweb, Frecklewish might still have some left over... yeesh, alright, I'll leave off the sarcasm. You don't have to glare at me."

Rootkit rolls his eyes. The _immaturity_ of some cats. "Maybe I went a little overboard, but we _need_ it. Frecklewish can just send the 'paws out to find some more. Now help me apply it; we need to cover the entire cage so there's no chance of getting out."

It's the work of a few minutes to paste it over with cobwebs, and the work of a few more to weave in all the protecting herbs. With luck, they'll prevent her from just phasing through. By the time they're done, it's so dense that a living cat would find it impossible to escape; Rootkit can only hope that the same goes for a dead one.

"Alright, fire 'er up!" Needlekit commands.

Rootkit closes his eyes to focus, trying to recall the feeling of power rushing through his being. Once, Tree had told them of a time when he'd jumped onto a wire fence and been struck by something he'd called _electricity_ \- what lightning was made of, apparently. Rootkit imagines it feels something like that.

The power lying dormant in his veins leaps forth eagerly at his call. It swells like a crescendo of sound, rushing out through his paws into the ground.

Rootkit focuses on the grave with every fiber of his being and _wills_ it to summon its spirit. " _Russetfur!_ " he cries out.

For a moment, nothing happens.

Then, something shifts.

It's like a hole is briefly torn through space; instinctively, Rootkit reaches in, grabs _something_ , and drags it through.

Beside him, Needlekit gasps. "What the heck was _that_?"

But her voice is wavy, distorted. Rootkit opens an eye and finds his world is tilted sideways. Needlekit makes a high pitched noise that scrapes its claws across the most inner parts of Rootkit's ears.

"M'fine," Rootkit mumbles. His words are slurred, he realizes distantly, because half his face is pressed into the dirt.

Needlekit jabs him. "This is no time for sleeping, Rootkit. Did it work?"

Rootkit blinks. For a moment, he has absolutely no idea what she's talking about; then, the memories start to flood back. He narrows his eyes, remembering the feeling of hooking a soul on his clawtips like a fish. "I think-"

He's interrupted by an infuriated caterwaul that drowns out whatever he was going to say.

" _What is this?_ "

The cage shakes as its captive throws her entire weight against the wall, but it holds steady. The herbs have done their job; even a ghost can't pass through.

Needlekit laughs triumphantly. "It's bad kitty jail for bad kitties!"

Russetfur snarls back something absolutely obscene and proceeds to attack the inside of the cage with a ferocious determination. At least, Rootkit thinks she is; it's kind of hard to tell since they can't actually see her.

"Can she get out?" Rootkit wonders.

"No," Needlekit says at the same time Russetfur snaps, "You bet your _kittypet hide_ I will."

Rootkit blinks.

"Literally," Russetfur adds. "Because _I'll strip it off your back to line my nest_."

"Oh." Rootkit drops his head back on the ground. The dirt here is very comfy, he realizes. Maybe he should just sleep here from now on. "Yeah. That was kind of unclear."

"It'll become _very_ clear in a few minutes, runt. I'll even give you a demonstration."

Needlekit leans against the cage with a smirk that probably would have been infuriating, if Russetfur could actually see it. "Don't worry, Redpelt, you're _clear_ as _crystal_."

Rootkit freezes. Even the scraping sounds coming from inside the cage cut off. "What was that," Russetfur says suspiciously. "Did you just-"

"Keep your _spirits_ up," Needlekit says. "I'm sure you'll be back to your old _haunting_ grounds in no time."

Rootkit tries to slam his head into the ground and discovers that it's really much harder to do when you're already lying on it.

Russetfur doesn't say anything.

"What's wrong, ghostie? You're as silent as the dead in there."

Then a translucent ear rises out of the ground _right next to Rootkit's face_ and he screams loud enough to be heard halfway to Riverclan, probably, and scrambles out of the way. Needlekit screams, too, and then Russetfur is climbing out of the ground like a corpse emerging from its grave.

She shakes herself off and grins down at them with more teeth than a cat should rightfully have. "You forgot to ward the bottom," she says. Rootkit makes a very small sound that definitely qualifies as a whimper. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a _ghost_."

All the fur on Needlekit's body has bushed out so she looks twice her size - which, compared to the full-grown warrior before them, is almost nothing. She's shaking like a leaf, but undaunted, she spits at Russetfur's feet. "Drop dead!"

Rootkit could _kill_ her.

In a blur of movement, Russetfur pins Needlekit to the cage wall with one paw. "I admire your spirit, kit," she hisses. "But if you want to sass me, you're digging your own _grave_."

That's _it_. Rootkit has had _enough_. That is the _final stars-damned straw-_ " _Shut up with the stupid ghost puns, I swear to Starclan_ ," Rootkit screams.

The wind rustles gently in the treetops as the two she-cats stare at him.

"The next person to make a _single_ stars-cursed ghost pun, I am going to _snap your fleabitten neck_. Is that _clear_?"

Needlekit makes a stifled noise muted by the heavy paw slowly crushing her windpipe.

"Ah." Russetfur looks to be considering it. "Would you say we're _dead m-_ "

Rootkit makes a very aggressive series of throat-slitting gestures.

"...you've got your father's _spirit_ in you, I see."

" _I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it_ ,"Rootkit snarls.

_That_ gets her attention. Russetfur's eyes widen, then narrow. "Oh?" Her voice is considerably less friendly.

This is where it gets tricky. Rootkit's at a disadvantage - he's just seriously ticked off a relatively powerful ghost with a grudge against his relatively powerless clan, she's got his sister by the throat, and his only bargaining chip is a bluff. But there's an opportunity somewhere here; he just has to navigate a very prickly, very dangerous minefield and pray he doesn't blow them all up.

Time to channel his inner Tree. "Look," Rootkit says, in his best diplomat voice. "Clearly, we both want something here, something that we can provide for each other. What do you say we make a deal?"

Russetfur narrows her eyes and tightens her grip on Needlekit. "I don't think you're in a position to bargain, here," she says.

"On the contrary." Rootkit raises a paw. "I am in _every_ position to offer a deal... as you just experienced yourself."

Russetfur scoffs. "What could you possibly have to offer me?"

"Your life."

That gives her pause. "If you could exorcise me, you'd have done it already."

Rootkit gives his best imitation of her knife-sharp smile and proceeds to lie through his teeth. "What do you think we were doing just now?"

The ghost narrows her eyes and says nothing.

Rootkit seizes his opportunity and plows onward. "You don't want to be exorcised, and we don't want you in our camp. So here's the deal - you leave and _we don't follow_." The last few words are growled out, like Leafstar whenever someone threatens the clan.

It's very intimidating, in his opinion, but it doesn't seem to have an effect in Russetfur. If anything, it only seems to make her angrier. "I won't sacrifice my honor as a Shadowclan cat to run from a bunch of _kittypets_ ," Russetfur snarls, leaning closer. "Even if you kill me again, I'd sooner die fighting for my clan than kowtow to some coddled _housepets_."

Rootkit grits his teeth. She hasn't called his bluff, but they can't have her running loose and hurting people. _Think, Rootkit_! "Another deal, then," he says. "If you won't leave the camp, then you just can't hurt anybody."

"No deal," Russetfur snaps.

"That's the final offer," Rootkit says coldly. "Under _no_ circumstances are you allowed to hurt or injure any Skyclan cats. I'm not going to compromise on that point. And you can't really afford to bargain, anyway," he adds with a shrug. His heart is pounding so loudly he's almost sure Russetfur can hear it. "If you don't, I'll just summon you into the cage again and exorcise you for good. Or who knows? Maybe we'll leave you in there for a while. And _this_ time we'll cover the bottom." He finishes with the nastiest, most hateful smile he can muster - which isn't particularly difficult, right now.

Russetfur goes silent. He can practically hear the gears in her brain ticking as she weighs her options. There's clearly only one real option here; he just hopes she isn't too prideful to take it.

"Fine," Russetfur growls, voice so low he has to strain to hear it. "Fine. I agree to your terms." The hatred seeping from her voice is almost palpable.

Well, the feeling is absolutely mutual. Rootkit dips into a little bow and bares his fangs in a farce of a smile. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Russetfur disappears into the air, leaving Needlekit to slump to the ground, wheezing. Rootkit waits until he's certain the ghost is gone before sinking onto the ground himself, body shaking with all the fear he couldn't allow himself to show before. _Holy crap_.

"Are you," Needlekit begins, then cuts herself off with a raucous bout of coughs that makes him wince. "Are you... okay?" she whispers hoarsely.

Rootkit makes a high-pitched, keening noise before breaking into nervous laughter. "No, no, not even a little bit. Oh, Starclan, I can't believe I'm alive, I thought she was going to kill us both. Oh stars..." he trails off with a giggle and buries his face in the dirt.

They lie there for a couple minutes, the silence broken only by Needlekit's wheezing and Rootkit's trembling.

"I want Mom and Dad," Needlekit whispers.

Rootkit couldn't agree more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now that the premise is done everything from here on out is stupid ghost shenanigans. you know, if i ever get around to writing them

**Author's Note:**

> i like rootspring because he's dumb and perpetually distressed and i can relate to that


End file.
